Huskers striking out on JUCO signing day

Nebraska came into Wednesday’s junior college signing day looking for some immediate help.

The Huskers may leave junior college signing day still looking for some immediate help.

As of 2 p.m. CT, two of Nebraska’s most coveted JUCO prospects had signed on elsewhere with a third, Mississippi defensive tackle Lavon Hooks, delaying his decision twice already today.

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Nebraska’s first two misses on Wednesday weren’t total surprises. Pierce Community College (Calif.) tight end Beau Sandland made it clear that the departure of Vince Marrow, his lead recruiter, changed his opinion of Nebraska, but it was thought the Huskers still had an outside chance. Sandland ended up signing with Miami over Nebraska or Arizona State.

ESPN ranked Sandland as the 12th-best JUCO prospect overall and second-best tight end in the country. The Nebraska staff will now likely put the blitz on College of the Desert (Calif.) tight end Brandon Vandenburg. ESPN ranks Vandenburg as the best JUCO tight end and 9th-best prospect nationally.

On the other side of the ball, Trinity Valley Community College (Texas) defensive tackle Quincy Russell chose Oklahoma over the Huskers.Out of high school, Russell was ranked as the 11th-best defensive tackle in the country and committed to Texas but failed to qualify academically.

That leaves Hooks, the Northeast Mississippi Community College defensive tackle who was originally scheduled to announce his decision at 11 a.m., then pushed it back to 1 p.m. He still hasn’t announced his intentions, but we’ll update this post when he does.

Hooks reportedly eliminated Nebraska from consideration on Monday, but the Huskers are back in it along with Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi State, and Washington.

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